I have written a This I Believe essay for my ninth grade English class. It is an essay that is 300-500 words long, that states my belief. I followed NPR (National Public Radio) guidelines, in order to complete it. This essay shows a belief that is personal and a big part of my life.

This I Believe

Have you ever had that feeling? It starts inside your brain, and then it somehow makes its way down to your heart. You don’t want to forgive them, but holding onto that grudge is eating away inside of you. This is never a good feeling. This feeling, along with my parents, have taught me that forgiveness is important. One of my biggest beliefs is that forgiveness is a necessity in life.
My parents came up with creative ways to punish my sister and I when we were younger. Grounding was non-existent in our household, but let me tell you, having hot sauce sit on your tongue is not fun for a kindergartener. This specific punishment was for denying throwing toothpaste down the stairs. There was just one big issue: I wasn’t the one who did it.
My older sister and I were in the upstairs bathroom brushing our teeth before bedtime. We had some type of argument about who got to use the toothpaste first. For some reason, my sister wouldn’t allow me to use it. I followed her out of the bathroom as she carried the toothpaste away with her. We ended up at the top of the stairs, and I watched as the toothpaste flew out of her hands and down the stairs, hitting each step as it made its way down. This decision didn’t go over well with my mother. Quickly after this event, my mom appeared at the bottom of the staircase holding the tube of toothpaste.
“Who threw the toothpaste down the stairs?” She asked again and again after my sister and I denied it. This dragged on until my mother told us we would both get hot sauce on our tongues since no one would confess and one of us had to be lying.. To avoid us both having to be punished, I just told her I was the one who threw it down the stairs. The punishment couldn’t be that bad right? Wrong. To my five year old self, it felt as if the hot sauce burnt my taste buds off. Many years have past, and I have since then forgiven my sister.
I know it may not be the most serious example, but it shows that I believe in forgiveness. I have come to understand that every human on earth is sinful, and Jesus is the one who brought us to redemption. Jesus gave me another chance, and he continues to forgive me every day. I should forgive others when they hurt me, because Jesus forgave me. There really is no reason to hold grudges when life on Earth with those we love is so short, especially compared to our eternal life in heaven. Without forgiveness in my life, I would be hurting deep in my heart. I hope others are willing to show me the same forgiveness on a day to day basis.